Viva

This place is ok. I wish more vegan places would shy away from soy since its so bad for you, there are so many substitutes now! But this place, majority of their stuff has soy. We had the hash which was good, but for 10.95 for a veggie hash I should have gotten way more kale! I felt like the portion size was small. We also tried some of the cheesecake… I could not eat more than 1 bite, it was just awful. I need to say I eat healthy all the time due to food allergies so I know what healthy-​good is and healthy-​bad tastes like. It smelled like glue, it was just weird. I was irritated that I spent 8 on a piece of cheesecake that I could not muster the stomach to eat. Its nice to have options for people for vegan/​GF which I why I gave it 3 stars since not many places do have that around the area.

Rude server on 1÷30÷16 @ 2pm and a misprint on the menu causing me to be overcharged for my salad. Despite the food being delicious, I won’t go back. The server who helped me said that the price printed on my check was the price of the salad despite it costing less on the menu, and she rudely said she couldn’t fix it and that I was the first person to catch the issue. No apology for it, no way to make it up. She didn’t even offer to refund the check with the wrong price and charge me the printed menu price for the salad. Nothing. I’m sorry, but that’s an awful way to treat someone paying for your products or services. Food was delicious, but I have zero interest in returning thanks to the attitude and lack of remedy from the server.

I’m not vegan or gluten free, but as a human being with taste buds I would say the food tastes healthy — in a cardboard munching kind of way.
The Cauliflower ‘Wings’ were heavily salted with a hint of spice. The creamy roasted garlic cashew dipping sauce redeemed an otherwise much too salty dish.
The Thai Peanut Kelp Noodle dish was my favorite, but still seemed to be missing something. Probably because I’m accustomed to traditional Thai food.
The Ginger Miso Salad was my least favorite, which is weird because I LOVE salads and raw vegetables. So I guess the dressing didn’t get along with my mouth.
The Brownie a la mode was soft, chewy and subtely sweet with a generous mound of dreamy cashew ice cream. I would come back just for that.
The atmosphere and service was great, too. Bringing it up to 4 stars

Amazing. Had a peanut butter bar that was moist and fantastic. The Harvest Pizza is one of the best pizzas I have ever had, Vegan or pro death pizza. Service was super friendly nice and very helpful. Thanks will be back.

This place is awesome on every front! The food is delicious, beautifully presented and leaves you feeling great. It is especially nice as a gluten free vegan to go out and actually have choices of what to order! They have decorated the space artistically, and the staff have been delightful to interact with every time I have been here. Highly recommended!

Got to meet the owner, she kept checking in on us and made sure everything was okay. Very nice lady, we complimented her place along with the artwork she had hung up on the walls. It was very beautiful. The food was phenomenal. I had the peanut butter chocolate «milk“shake with the mac n «cheese» it was amazing right amount of creaminess and consistency. I also tried my friends food as well, the chorizo tacos, portobello and tofu tacos, and the lasagna they were all good! It did get pretty busy when we got there though we got our milkshakes right away but our food took a while. I suggest ordering appetizers if its ever busy that way the wait doesn’t seem as long.

Kimchi Mac is AWESOME! I could eat it every day. And their specialty kombucha is delicious. Cute little place and not greasy like other vegan restaurants I have been to

Great food! Had the pizza!!! And don’t forget to get a desert bar from display case!!! So amazing!!!

Great food, commitment to social justice/​fair trade, and an intimate atmosphere. This is like many other chic expensive vegan places, but at $ 12 a plate I Dont feel it really stood up to the price.

Exceptional! Incredibly fresh and healthy food — yet hearty and satisfying. Truly made with love and care. Their breakfast chorizo tacos were the absolute best! The blue corn tortillas are made in-​house and are perfectly rustic and delicious. The chick-​un and waffles were fantastic as well. 100% Gluten-​free, 100% vegan, 100% organic. What’s not to love?!

First time in food tasted great other than the total overkill with green onions. Two items we ordered stated they were on there, one didn’t (the Mac and cheese). There was so much green onion it actually ruined the flavor of two of my items (the Mac and cheese and my pizza). Nice atmosphere, service was ok. Prices were steep being Tacoma, I have paid less for better tasting food in Seattle but portions were large. Highlight was the sesame ginger wings… biggest downfall was the pizza (the reason why we came). Viva posted a photo on Facebook last night and we were inspired to go. A 2″ crust diameter was not expected (although the crust was the most delicious part).

Enjoyed a solo brunch at Viva this morning. The dining area was small, but I was pleasantly surprised to plenty of open seating. With Tacoma’s sparse Vegetarian/​Vegan breakfast options, this place is a true gem!
Ambiance: Small, but light filled and welcoming.
Menu: Vegan, organic breakfast and lunch. All items clearly labeled with ingredients/​allergens.
Service: My server was so kind! She never even blinked at my Service Animal, providing exceptional service without seeming to hover.
Hits: Everything I tasted here was delicious. Tofu scramble was flavorful without being greasy, my fresh juice (apple and greens today) was perfectly balanced, and the peanut butter oatmeal bar that I ordered to go was massive!
Misses: Nothing that I noticed, aside from perhaps a customizable scramble, which would have been most welcome.

Visiting from out of town and used Unilocal to find a vegan/​veg restaurant. The food at Viva is amazing! I had the veggie hash– delicious, tons of food and way filling. I read all of the reviews on Unilocal and expected tasty food but small portions… Well, they were half right! Tasty and plenty of food. Sadly, I didn’t have room for vegan cheesecake at the end of the meal.
FYI: they also serve gluten-​free local beer.

Tacoma vs. Seattle: it’s a tie, drinking gluten free stout (Seattle made) at a gf/​vegan/​raw café in Tacoma! Everything I hoped it would be, and not missing the northern eats as much. Highly recommend the cheesecake, perfect density, delicious nutty-​crumb crust, hint of banana.

One of the few vegie/​vegan options in this area. It is miles beyond most of the meat/​grease & fast food joints that plague this part of the country.
That being said it still has work to do:
The prices are too high for what you get (and I’m used to California prices…)
Service can be on the slow side and there is at least one waiter there that is so timid he is afraid of his own shadow.
I asked specifically to avoid onions in the food I ordered, they said no problem however they were all over the bell pepper pizza which was otherwise really good. (This place is very onion-​centric for those of you who despise them like me).
Definitely will return but hopefully they will improve.

Wow, we were here twice and the food is sooo good. They have also gluten free options and if you want something is without soya. They often tell you a speciell meal from the chef. If we will be back in Tacoma we definitely will eat there.

When we arrived we were greeted with images of delicious foods. Upon entering the establishment the staff was very welcoming and friendly. They walked us through the menu a bit, and made excellent recommendations for everyone. The food was delicious, and very welcome by us (we decided it was a good way to cleanse after having donuts for breakfast!).
The food was fairly tasty, and surprisingly filling. It was the first time I’d gone to a raw food restaurant, though I’ve made raw foods myself at home. That being said I’d probably have enjoyed my zucchini manicotti more if it had something else in it. By the end of the dish I didn’t feel like I was getting enough variety in flavor, so the last fourth was just blasé.
Also, everything is heavily nut-​based. So if you have an allergy, be warned.
The only down side to the place was the waiter. He was so incredibly happy and excited that we were eating there that I wondered if we had wandered into a cult or something. Maybe he just genuinely is that happy and I’ve grown cynical though.
I give the restaurant itself 3/​5, with that extra star being lost because the waiter just came on WAY too strong for the PNW crowd.
Bottom Line:
The food is good, and worth the experience of having raw food if you’ve never done it in a restaurant. However, it may be worth it to get it to go, in order to avoid the service staff. I really wouldn’t have been too surprised if some black-​robed figures walked in praising Cthulhu or something.

My wife and I have had Viva 5 – 6 times now. We are not vegans, but appreciate the humane lifestyle and try and eat that way from time to time.
I have never been disappointed. I generally get the Mexican Scramble which has so many flavors, and is ridiculous. I’m trying to force myself to have other things. I just had zucchini manicotti which was also very good. It was a cold dish which surprised me at first, but I enjoyed it.
Their chia seed pudding is really good too.
Check it out!

Finding Viva is the first minor difficulty, as it is placed behind the Starbucks, but they do have sandwich boards out. There is a small parking lot and some out door seating on the sidewalk. The interior looks more Café than restaurant, but is set up to efficiently seat as many as possible.
There were only two people working the front of the restaurant, and my friend and I were told to sit wherever we wanted. We sat down and we’re brought menus, and water. Followed quickly by a bottle of water for our table (everyone else was being given water service). The menu is amazing, and everything is served all day, another bonus. The food takes about 25 minutes to reach your table, and there isn’t a complimentary bread service to chew on while you wait.
But oh the food. The servings were a bit tiny but still filling. The breakfast Tacos I had were great! And the sweet potato fries were perfectly cooked.
I want to come back again and hope to see a bit better service, but in the meantime please go yourself (just not when you’re already hungry).

We were so sad when AmeRAWcan closed… and now we are so happy Viva has opened! The ambiance is better than AmeRAWcan too — even if the tables are a little close together!
The server was super friendly and walked us through the menu specials. We landed on the hummus as anappetizer and the burger and tacos for our main course. The one downside to the meal was that our appetizers and entrée came out together — that is a pet peeve of mine but they just opened and the server was alone… they are probably just working out kinks.
It’s great to have this type of restaurant in Tacoma — wish there were more of its kind ;)
Can’t wait to go back — oh and score… you can order breakfast any time of day!!!